A mendicant is a beggar. In tagalog, it’s manglilimos. You could find a lot of them roaming the streets of Metro Manila cities.
Just about an hour ago in a 7-11 store where i went in to eat my supper. I saw two ladies counting coins, lots of them. They appear to be Badjaos, one of the tribes originally from Mindanao.
They were doing the counting in the table which i also use to put my meal. While they were doing their thing I also mentally counted one of the lady’s money. It was more than 1,000 pesos (20$). An earning of one person only.
An average construction worker is only earning 300 pesos a day (6$). Had to injure heat and risk of an accident. While these beggars just sit or stand in one corner pretending to be poor.
Don’t fall for their antics.